Sompo plans to finance the acquisitions through the sale of common shares

Sompo Holdings Inc.-bsp-bb-link>, Japan’s third-largest property and casualty insurer, plans to reduce its 1.8 trillion yen ($11.5 billion) cross-holding over the next few years and partially use proceeds to finance the acquisition.

The company intends to sell one third of its so-called strategic shares by the end of fiscal 2026, CEO Mikio Okumura-bsp-person> said in an interview. Half of the proceeds will be returned to shareholders and the remainder will be used for foreign expansion and investment in human resources.

Mikio Okumura in Tokyo, May 21.

Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

In Japan, mutual shares are widely used to cement business ties. Insurers in the country have pledged to put an end to this practice…